The ‘Sicario’ Screenwriter Explains Why Emily Blunt Won’t Be Back for the Sequels

Let’s say you’ve been given three wishes by one of those C-list celebrities that keep appearing as the Ghost of Christmas Whatever in Hallmark specials. What do you wish for? Since I like to think of myself as a good person, I’d probably spend the first two wishes ridding the world of hunger and violence or cleaning up our carbon footprint with a snap of my fingers. But my third? That one I might waste on unlimited resources, so I could make movies that solidify Emily Blunt as the biggest action star of our generation. Forget Scarlett Johansson; after The Huntsman: Winter’s War, Sicario, and Edge of Tomorrow, Blunt is the woman to beat in my book.

That’s why I was so bummed to hear that Blunt would not be returning for Soldado, the second movie in the Sicario trilogy planned by screenwriter Taylor Sheridan. While Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro received a great deal of praise for the film — and deservedly so — it was Blunt’s character that I wanted to spend more time with going forward. That being said, Sheridan recently sat down with TheWrap to explain why Blunt would not be returning for the second film, and I have to admit, his logic is pretty sound.

That was my decision, and at some point I’m going to have to talk to her about it… What do you do next? She moves to some little town and becomes a sheriff and then gets kidnapped and then we have ‘Taken?’ I had to tell the story that was true to this role, and I didn’t feel like I could create something with that character that would further that world that would do Emily’s character justice. That said, there could be room for Kate somewhere else down the road.

Frustrations aside, it’s pretty refreshing to hear a screenwriter talk openly about cutting a popular character rather than giving them a half-baked arc. Plenty of movie franchises have been victims of their own success, so afraid to venture from the formula that made them a hit that they forget it was the film’s originality that won us over in the first place. With movies like Sicario and Hell or High Water under his belt, it looks like Sheridan is determined to tell stories his way, even if it means leaving a popular character like Emily Blunt’s Kate Macer behind. If Blunt does return to the franchise at some point, it sounds like it will be on Sheridan’s terms, and that bodes well for the direction of this trilogy.

All of that being said: Sheridan, I know you were joking, but if you ever decide to do an Emily Blunt twist on the Takenformula, rest assured I would be one of the first people in line for that movie. Hey, if my third Christmas wish comes through, I might even be the one bankrolling it! I look forward to working with you soon.